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Tuesday, December 06, 2011

What is "a family"?

Stock image of 'traditional family'

It seems like a simple question, but it doesn't necessarily have a simple answer. Research by a new "think tank" (why do I hate that expression?) tells us that:

"The traditional 2.4 British family is a thing of the past, with eight out of 10 people now describing their family set-up as not traditional, or not conforming to the stereotypical two married parents with two or more children. The majority of people feel their family is unrepresented by politicians, the media and advertising with 52 per cent claiming the Government does not take their family set-up into account."

The above is the first paragraph of a press release from the Centre for the Modern Family, which "aims to improve the understanding of the challenges facing British
families, by providing insight and perspectives for Government,
businesses, media, communities and faith groups to help improve family
lives". The press release tells us that the research and further information on the panel of experts that analysed it can be found on the Centre's website, but at the time of writing this, clicking that link merely tells us that the website is 'coming soon', so I've not seen the research, which was apparently based upon "a nationally representative survey of 3,000 adults aged 16 and over living in Great Britain".

The press release goes on to tell us however that the research:

"...reveals that just 16 per cent of people define themselves as part of a
'traditional' family of two married parents living together with two or
more children. Instead, the findings indicate family structures are
becoming increasingly diverse. A quarter of all couples are childless,
and one in five lives alone.

As a result of this, half of
the population believe society is out of date in its view of the family.
In addition to married mums and dads with two or more children,
Britons are increasingly likely to describe single-parent, same-sex, or
unmarried couples as 'proper' families."

There was, however, a significant minority of those canvassed who disagreed with these views:

"A third, 34 per cent, thinks that a couple should be married to be a
family. Just under a third, 29 per cent, believe that same sex couples
are not a proper family, and almost one in five, 17 per cent, feel that
single parents are not a proper family."

Such feelings have unsurprisingly been echoed by the Daily Mail, which dismisses the research as the work of a "trendy thinktank" that is trying to kill off the 'traditional' family.

Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. Constructive comments are always welcome, even if they do not coincide with my views! Please note, however, that comments will be removed or not published if I consider that:* They are not relevant to the subject of this post; or* They are (or are possibly) defamatory; or* They breach court reporting rules; or* They contain derogatory, abusive or threatening language; or* They contain 'spam' advertisements (including links to any commercial websites).Please also note that I am unable to give advice.

Disclaimer

Nothing in this blog should be construed as legal advice. If you require legal advice upon any family law related matter then you should consult a solicitor. Any links to other blogs or web sites are provided for convenience only and I cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of such linked blogs/sites.